You don’t have to save the galaxy
That always seemed quite a big ask in the original Mass Effect games. With Mass Effect: Andromeda kicking off between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3– and taking place 600 years later in the next galaxy– Commander Shepard’s battle with the Reapers is history.
Instead in Mass Effect: Andromeda you play as Ryder (either Scott or Sara), child of Alec – the man tasked with guiding the Hyperion to one of the ‘golden worlds’ in the Heleus cluster of Andromeda. The Hyperion is one of four ‘arks’ sent to colonize Andromeda in light of the Reaper threat to the Milky Way.
The new galaxy is huge
The previous Mass Effect games’ worlds were hardly small, but Andromeda’s approach is even more open. Many of the planets are huge open worlds in themselves, while everything from star systems to small moons reward exploration. Some of the larger planets are bigger than the entirety of BioWare’s own not-exactly-small Dragon Age: Inquisition, the developer claims. And it’s easy to believe. Environments range from frozen icescapes to deserts and thick, tangled jungles, with hazards such as extreme temperatures and deadly radiation abound.
Making five of these planets viable for life is a huge part of the game.
Character progression is more open
Like most RPGs, the original trilogy locked you into character classes. Andromeda ditches that system in favor of a far more open one, so now you’re free, right from the start, to cherry-pick whatever skills take your fancy.
If you don’t like your choices, a quick trip to the medbay on your ship the Tempest – with a fistful of credits – allows you to reallocate points however you like. And while you must also assign points to your squadmates, your control over them pretty much stops there. The hardcore may miss fussing over their loadouts, nannying them around the battlefield and working out a rota system so they all get enough action to level up, but newbies will surely appreciate their independence.
That’s not to say Andromeda is a free-for-all shooter with no depth. Push further into the Combat, Biotics and Tech trees and you find all kinds of buffs, benefits and complementary effects. There’s a complex and extremely powerful system in there. You’re just not forced to make major, irreversible decisions right from the off.
Customization is nearly endless
While the progression elements deal with your abilities, it’s important not to forget the external, superficial stuff we all like so much. The looks of Andromeda’s characters are incredibly customizable.
It stands to reason you should add equally colorful and customizable controls. For instance, Logitech’s illuminating keyboard offers over 16.8 million colors, and can be finely controlled to provide visual feedback to in-game events. It’s also available as a part of Logitech G’s limited edition Mass Effect: Andromeda line of gear (along with custom mouse, headphones and mouse mat) and even standard ones come with presets that respond to key in-game events. How many more reasons could you need?
The whole set has of course been developed specifically for gaming with ultra-fast response times, strong yet light designs and mastery of multiple button-presses and complex key binds. So there are some more reasons.
Learn more about Logitech G’s custom limited edition Mass Effect: Andromeda PC gaming gear here.
Sponsored by Logitech
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